| WKU Softball at C-USA Championship | |
| Dates | Thursday, May 7 - Saturday, May 9 |
| Location | Miami, Fla. | Felsberg Field at FIU Softball Stadium |
| Championship Central | ConferenceUSA.com |
| Live Video | C-USA Digital Network |
| LiveStats | |
| Live Audio | 102.7/1450 AM |
| Game Notes | WKU Game Notes |
MIAMI, Fla.— Coming in as the No. 1 seed, the WKU softball team opens its time at the Conference USA Championship on Thursday at 10 a.m. CT against eight-seeded Charlotte at Felsberg Field at FIU Softball Stadium in Miami, Fla.
The game will be aired online at the C-USA Digital Network with a paid subscription and broadcast in Bowling Green on 102.7 and 1450 AM. In-game updates will be available on the team's Twitter page, @WKUSoftball. For information and links, visit the Championship Central page on ConferenceUSA.com.
If WKU advances, the team would face the winner of No. 4 UAB and No. 5 Marshall on Friday at 1 p.m. CT. The single-elimination format leaves the Championship Game on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT on CBS Sports Network.
The Lady Toppers faced the weekend of April 24, going 2-1 against the 49ers. After winning game one 1-0, WKU came out and sealed the series with a 3-1 victory behind a Miranda Kramer no-hitter. Sunday's game had Charlotte forcing extra innings after a solo home run in the seventh knotted it at 1 each. The 49ers went on to win in 11 frames despite Kramer setting the C-USA game record with 18 strikeouts in the contest.
Larissa Franklin and Preslie Cruce had the best offensive series against Charlotte, hitting .500 each with six and five hits, respectively. WKU had 22 hits in the three games, but left 31 on base.
-Game Notes-
STORYLINES FROM 2015 REGULAR SEASON
- Won Conference USA Regular-Season Title with 16-5 league mark
- Secured all seven series league played, including two sweeps
- Team lost out on 16 games during the season because of weather and other circumstances, leaving team with 43 total games
- Defeated two nationally-ranked teams on the road with No. 19 Nebraska and No. 14 Tennessee
- Four senior transfers and four returning seniors have made major impacts on the 2015 season in different ways
- Pitcher Miranda Kramer caught national attention with nation-leading numbers, double-digit strikeouts, three no-hitters, eight C-USA Pitcher of the Week honors and three national player of the week accolades
- Team batting leader Larissa Franklin will be taking her talents to the Canadian National Team, playing for her home country in this summer's Pan American games that take place in Toronto
- Grand slams are hot for WKU, as the team has hit five this season, led by Dani Pugh's three while Carleigh Chaumont and Brooke Holloway have one each
WKU EARNS CONFERENCE USA REGULAR-SEASON TITLE
After being picked to finish fifth in the C-USA Preseason Poll, the Lady Toppers ended the season on top, taking the league's regular-season title in its first year with the league. It's the second regular-season title in WKU's 16-year history, winning the 2013 Sun Belt Conference championship with a 20-3 league record. The team went on to earn an at-large bid and appear in its first-ever NCAA Regional, making it to the championship game and finishing the season with a 43-18 record.
FOUR LADY TOPS HONORED BY C-USA; Amy Tudor NAMED COACH OF THE YEAR
C-USA honored four Lady Toppers and head coach Amy Tudor on Wednesday. Ace Miranda Kramer was named the Pitcher and Newcomer of the Year while joining Larissa Franklin on the All-Conference First Team. Dani Pugh was selected to Second-Team All-Conference while Carleigh Chaumont earned a spot on the All-Freshman Team. Tudor was also named Coach of the Year.
Along with those selected while members of the Sun Belt Conference, WKU now has 46 All-Conference selections in program history. Kramer becomes the second Lady Topper to be named Pitcher of the Year while she earned the same honor in the Summit League last season. Franklin is now a three-time All-Conference selection while Pugh is a two-time pick. It's the first Coach of the Year honor for Tudor.
WKU AT NO. 33 IN NCAA RPI
WKU came in at No. 33 in this latest NCAA RPI release. Against the field, WKU is 6-7 versus the top 50 with wins over No. 11 Tennessee, No. 37 Florida Atlantic, No. 42 Nebraska and No. 49 Marshall. Expanding that out, the Lady Toppers hold a 13-9 mark against the top 100 and 22-11 record versus the top 150.
KRAMER BREAKS RECORD WITH EIGHTH C-USA PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Miranda Kramer earned her Conference USA record-breaking eighth C-USA Pitcher of the Week honor after a week highlighted by her third no-hitter of the year. The eighth weekly honor for Kramer beats out ECU's Toni Paisley (2009, 2010) and Southern Miss' Courtney Blades (2000) in the record books, as the duo had seven in a single season.
Kramer's no-no effort came in a 3-0 win over regional rival Middle Tennessee. It was the second no-hitter for the lefty in C-USA games, as she accomplished the feat against Charlotte. Against MT, Kramer pitched the complete game with 13 strikeouts while she allowed baserunners with a walk and two hit by pitches. It was the 10th no-hitter in school history, as Kramer is the first pitcher at WKU to ever toss three no-hitters in a season and career.
Kramer totaled 20 strikeouts last week in 16 innings of work, bringing her season total to 366 strikeouts, which is tied for third in the C-USA single-season records. Her 180 strikeouts in league action is tops in the record book for C-USA games.
FINDING A CONSISTENT BAT
WKU continues to search for hot bats, but Larissa Franklin and Shawna Sadler have stepped up to the plate in the past weeks. Franklin had a 13-game hit streak snapped at Louisville, but picked her hits back up against Middle Tennessee, notching eight hits in the trio of games. Franklin had a season-high four in game three's offensive explosion. She only has four games this season without a hit while tabbing 20 multi-hit games. Sadler is on a five-game hit streak, notching multi-hit games in three of them. The senior was the only Lady Topper to grab a hit at Louisville while her single to left in game three at MT brought in the first two runs of an eight-run frame to start WKU's comeback.
HANSON HAVING CAREER-BEST OFFENSIVE SEASON
Kayti Hanson is having a career-best offensive season, as out of consistent WKU starters she is second with a .330 average and 38 hits. Hanson's best season was her freshman year at IPFW, hitting .273 with 38 hits. Her 10 multi-hit games this season is a career high while she improves her average to .377 in C-USA games.
NCAA STATS HIGHLIGHTS
- Kramer leads nation in strikeouts, strikeouts per seven innings and hits allowed per seven innings; second in ERA and shutouts
- Franklin ranked 40th in batting average
- WKU ranked 12th in ERA and fielding percentage
- Kramer is active career leader with 1,131 strikeouts and 10.89 strikeouts per seven innings; Cruce leads with 79 hit by pitches
